-Project Friendship: Sunggyu-

Level 1

            In thirty minutes Yeri would finally get off her six-hour shift, she’s been rearranging products and helping customers nonstop and she was beyond exhausted. As her customer was leaving Yeri followed and saw her to the door with a bright smile, hoping that her tiredness won’t show through giving the elder lady the best service she could. Thankfully the lady smiled back at Yeri and thanked her quietly while mentioning she will be back, Yeri bowed to her by the door and when she looked up she noticed through the window a figure huddled on the curb of the busy street outside. It looked to be a young man, probably her age and he wore a black beanie and inconspicuous clothes; it was such a bizarre sight, seeing someone crouched over on the side of the crowded street. Yeri tried to get a better look, wondering what the man was doing but another customer had stepped in and she had to greet them instead.

            Yeri spent the next few minutes of her shift helping the man pick out a present for his daughter, it was somewhat tiring hearing his concerns but endearing nonetheless and she did her best helping him pick out a gift set for his teenage daughter. As the man mused his thoughts between the lavender and rose scented sets, Yeri glanced towards the glass window again and was surprised to see the man from before still huddled on the ground. Now that she was standing closer to the window she could see his face better, and she thought she must have begun hallucinating because it looked like the face of an idol that she was familiar with from television.

            If she wasn’t wrong it was Kim Sunggyu, a popular idol from INFINITE, she wondered what he was doing here and how come no one else seemed to realise there was a celebrity around. Yeri wasn’t exactly a diehard fan, she knew a song here and there, was aware of INFINITE L’s incredible good looks but she has seen Sunggyu on 'High Society' and 'Genius' before and she was even familiar with his solo albums (though she has only heard the most recent hit song). Which made it all the more surprising to see him sitting on the ground like that, he seemed to be watching the people walk by, unaware of her stares directed at him.

            “I’ll take this one,” the customer finally decided on the lavender gift set and once he was satisfied, Yeri headed behind to get changed and finally leave work for the day. She smiled at the paying customer on the way out, subconsciously rushing to see if the idol was still sitting where he was.

            Yeri shivered at the cold winds as she stepped out and glanced past the ever-crowded street, her heart nearly stopped when she saw that Sunggyu was still crouched by the curb still unaware of her even though he was watching the people pass by. He didn’t even notice when she approached him and it was only when she was finally in front of him that he looked up at her.

            “…” he didn’t say a word as he stared at her and she suddenly felt a little embarrassed coming up to him like this, but at least she now knew for sure that it was definitely Sunggyu and not some strange lookalike loitering around.

            “Uh… hi… you’re Sunggyu, right?” she started awkwardly and she almost smacked herself when he smiled handsomely at her broken words. He stood up immediately and she was almost overwhelmed by how tall he was, he didn’t look it on television and she her bottom lip nervously as he stepped around her so he was facing away from the crowd. “… I’m a… fan… I was wondering what you’re doing out here in the cold.”

            “Someone finally recognised me,” he smiled again, this time a strange one, different from the one he showed when he first saw her. “Thank you for coming to speak to me, I have to go now so see you.”

            It was an abrupt goodbye but Sunggyu bowed to her politely, he of all people (someone as famous as he was) bowed to her, someone that was practically a stranger and hardly even worthy of his attention. Yeri was obviously flustered, even she couldn’t hide her flabbergasted look as she bowed back sheepishly and he smiled slightly again. The same as the first smile, a small and perhaps even slightly mischievous one. With that he went his way and before she could even say anything he had already blended into the crowd and she lost sight of him; strange was an understatement, she didn’t know how she felt about what happened but she did know that the first thing she would do after getting home would be to do some thorough research on INFINITE and stream their tracks.

            Yeri was thankful that her home was close by, the sooner she got home the better, excitement was beginning to build up as she recalled meeting Sunggyu just now, the man who was arguably the most famous person she has ever met. INFINITE was incredibly popular after all, even overseas they had a loyal fan-base and girls would throw themselves at their feet given the opportunity.

            While walking she didn’t immediately notice a familiar figure in front of her but she soon noticed the black beanie from before and it wasn’t until he glanced back at her did Yeri notice that she had found Sunggyu again, and from the suspicious looks he was throwing her she would guess that he thought she was stalking him. Yeri’s presence was making him uncomfortable, that much she was certain but she didn’t know how to resolve this; she was heading the same way after all, would it make sense that she had to stop to make him feel better? She debated it in her head but before she could come up with a decision Sunggyu stopped first and turned around to face her.

            There was a strange look on his face and she immediately recognised the expression as distaste. Yeri froze as he approached her, his thin eyes now not so friendly and his lips in a straight line. “I’m sorry but could you stop following me now, I need to go home… you should too, it’s late now…”

            “I- uh- I’m actually going the same way… I live a few blocks from here…” she said quietly, worried for his reaction but she saw something completely unexpected. His cold expression completely fell and he looked in disbelief, he looked so apologetic that Yeri didn’t know if what she said had upset him or something. “… Sunggyu?”

            “… Ah,” he looked away for a moment, seemingly disappointed in himself. “It seems pathetic little me misunderstood the situation, I am so sorry.”

            “No! It’s fine,” she immediately told him, worried by his unstable tone and frankly surprised by his dejected words. “Don’t apologise please, I can understand why you would assume the worse.”

            “Yeah but still,” he hung his head with a frown. “I… I got conceited there… and I wrongfully accused you.”

            “Really it’s okay, don’t worry,” she tried to give him a natural smile, she didn’t know what to say or how to react to an idol having a meltdown. “I’m still just pretty amazed someone like you would speak to me.”

            “Someone like me?”

            “Well you’re INFINITE’s Sunggyu,” she shrugged casually. “You’re the guy I’ve watched on TV, the guy that sings incredibly, and you know L so that’s kind of a big deal. I was surprised you would speak to me so normally earlier.”

            Her words seemed to have calmed him slightly and he smiled briefly, it was short but she sensed warmth that was otherwise missing up until this point. “Did you expect me to be different?”

            “Honestly? Yeah,” she nodded slowly. “I mean I don’t follow idols closely but from what I’ve seen I thought you were quite intimidating… and not to mention you were taller than I expected.”

            Sunggyu laughed at that, a genuine laugh and not just a little curved smile he had shown her so far, and her heart might have skipped a beat at his cute boyish laughter. “Well I guess I’m somewhat glad I got to clear my image up a bit with you.”

            Yeri smiled back at him and for a moment they stood in silence, just looking at each other and she got shy by the way he was staring at her face like he was studying her. Before she burst with embarrassment, she glanced down to her feet shyly and he cleared his throat quickly.

            “Uh well, I guess I should walk you home then?”

            “What? No, it’s okay,” she waved her hands as she shook her head. “I’ll be fine and I can’t let you do something like that.”

            “Why? Because I’m an idol?”

            “No- well, partially,” she struggled to find the words to describe her feelings, she didn’t want him to get in trouble with anyone (not his company or his fans) and she especially didn’t want him to feel bad for ‘offending’ her earlier; it seemed to have a larger impact on him than it did on her after all and she was worried he might still be caught up in it. “I’ll be fine on my own, plus you were in a hurry earlier so just go first.”

            “… Well okay then, goodbye, take care on your way home,” he eventually agreed and she was glad that he was leaving without further protest, after all she knew from seeing on television how stubborn he could be. She finally gained a sense of relief when she said goodbye back and he turned to walk, but his steps fell short as he glanced back. Alarmed by his actions she simply waved at him with a s